Poker pros play online for several reasons: it is very convenient, for practice, to build a bankroll, to play against other pros; the list could go on and on. Pros especially enjoy competing at the Full Tilt Poker high stakes tables. Full Tilt is the home of many poker pros who like to compete at the high stakes tables and it is always exciting but not always fun for the poker pros.
There is always a big winner but at the same time there is a big loser. Over the past few months one of the best poker pros has been experiencing a down swing. Patrik Antonius has been down for the year ever since it started but now it seems he is on his way back up.
In 2009 Patrik Antonius earned almost $9 million at the Full Tilt Poker high stakes tables. In 2009 he was the highest earner for the year at Full Tilt. But beginning in 2010 Antonius went on a losing streak. The poker pro had lost over one million dollars in 2010 and by March the pro had lost yet another million which made his losses for the year almost $3 million.
Antonius explained why the slump: “I’ve been struggling a lot with my physical condition…I’m in rehab now for my back…My life always goes like this. Things go bad or good. I hate these moments when everything just goes bad. When I get better, everything usually gets better, too. It’s normal. Welcome to the poker world.”
Despite the first three months of the year being pretty much horrible for the poker pro it seems as though the month of April has been a complete turnaround. The pro won almost $1 million playing H.O.R.S.E. at Full Tilt just last week. The pro faced off against Brian Townsend, Gus Hansen and ‘the cranium’ to win the cash.
Antonius is currently showing a profit of $1.4 million for the month and if he continues he should make up what he lost at the first of the year. Antonius is now the top earner for April and he has also pulled himself out of the Full Tilt Poker spot as the biggest loser for the year. Now Brian Townsend has lost the most for the year at $2.6 million.
Antonius has been quoted on how he copes with the downswings of the game, he replied: “It depends on a lot of things. If I have personal things going on in my life, then the downswings can affect me. And it depends how it happens. When I lose in very good games when I couldn’t have really done anything differently, then it doesn’t really bother me. But if I lose in a game where I really shouldn’t have lost, then it bothers me.”
It will definitely be interesting to see how well Antonius will do for the rest of the month. Hopefully he will earn the additional cash he needs to get out of the hole.
Full Tilt Poker is currently the second largest online poker room and new players get $600 Full Tilt Poker Bonus.